Ark Therapeutics Group plc is pleased to announce it has received notice of the award of a €5.3 million EU Framework Programme 7 Grant to a consortium led by Ark including two other SMEs and elements of the Yale-UCL Research Collaborative (Division of Medicine in UCL, and Departments of Cardiology in Yale and Queen Mary College London) and the University of Eastern Finland.

The Grant supports the consortium’s involvement in a research programme to translate cutting edge biotechnology in the coronary stent area over four years. The Grant is subject to the formal process of contract negotiation with the European Commission (“EC”) which is anticipated to reach conclusion in September. Ark’s successful grant application was chosen from more than 40 applications across Europe and received an overall score of 13.5 out of a possible 15 from the EC's independent scientific report on the project’s technology.

The Grant will fund research that combines the technologies of the participants:

1) Ark's technology and expertise concerning adenoviral-delivered gene therapeutics, which will be delivered to the coronary artery after heart attack to restore the integrity of the artery; and

2) Use of a pro-healing and/or regenerative stent (in collaboration with Magnus Inventions and QualiMed, a German company which will make the stent).

The objective of the project will be to stimulate a healing process such that over time the stent will undergo a predictable degradation to leave a wholly biologically healed artery through regeneration of native tissues. The research programme is scheduled to commence in November this year and Ark will receive €1.1 million for its contribution to the project.

Martyn Williams, Chief Executive of Ark commented: “The award to Ark of this significant EU grant further demonstrates the Company’s innovative science capabilities and validates the approach of gene therapy and stem cell therapy in the cardiovascular system. We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with so many respected institutions and look forward to contributing to such an important disease area.”

Professor John Martin, Chief Scientific Officer at Ark commented: “Grants, such as the EU Framework Grant announced today, provide much needed resources to carry out important research into areas where there is significant unmet need. We hope that this research will offer new hope to sufferers of heart disease, a condition that affects more than 50% of the population during their lifetime.”